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S P E E^ 



OF 




HON. A. H. BAILEY, 



IN" TI^E SEISTjAlTE, 



UPON THE 



Resolution to instruct our Senators and to request our Members 
to vote for the adoption of the recommendation of the 
President, contained in his Special Mes- 
sage of March 6th, 1862. 



ALBANY: 

WEED, PARSONS AND COMPANY, PRINTERS. 

1862. 



"-Jiff 



E4 Si 



7-1. r 
A 






SPEECH 



OF 



HON. A. H. BAILEY. 



Mr. President : As a rule, I think it unwise 
to introduce subjects of national legislation in 
this Senate. We are not sent here for the con- 
sideration of such matters, but to legislate for 
our own State. If we discharge this duty, we 
shall hare full occupation for all our energies. 
But we live in revolutionary times. All that is 
dear to us is at stake. Our existence as a nation 
— the liberty, prosperity and happiness of our- 
selves and of our children — now hang trembling 
in the balance. AVhile my faith in an overruling 
Providence is as strong as that of most men ; and 
while, therefore, my confidence in the ultimate 
triumph of our just cause remains unabated ; 
I yet cannot shut my eyes to the appalling dan- 
gers before us. At such a time, and under such 
circumstances, I think we are called upon to 
speak. And this Legislature, representing every 
portion of the State, and composed of members 
recently elected upon the issues created by this 
war, will give as correct an expression of the 
popular voice of New York as could in any way 
be obtained. And this State, moreover, having 
sent a hundred thousand men into the field — her 
bankers and capitalists having furnished more 
than half of all the money expended in this 
struggle — she having, under all circumstances 
and in every way, shown an untarnished loyalty 
and an unfaltering patriotism, is justly entitled 
to be heard upon every question vitally afiecting 
our cause. 

Therefore, while 1 am opposed to the doctrine 
of instractloQS as generally anderstood and prac- 



tised, I am desirous that the position of New 
York, upon the question under consideration, 
may be understood, not only by congress, but 
by the whole nation. Sir, the subject which is 
here opened up to us is one of the most difficult, 
and at the same time, one of the most important 
that has ever engaged the attention of the Ameri- 
can people. Unfortunately, it is also one which 
can hardly be touched without exciting the pas- 
sions of men almost to madness. Whatever then 
may be our sentiments in regard to it, let us re- 
member that our own intensity of feeling may 
easily lead us into error — and with this reflec- 
tion, let us endeavor to exercise charity for 
others, that we may deserve it for ourselves. 

The temptation, upon an occasion like this, to 
make an extended speech, to marshal statistics, 
to appeal and to denounce, is almost irresistible, 
I confess. But I shall endeavor to avoid all ex- 
traneous matter ; and say what I have to say, 
calmly and dispassionately. 

Sir, the great fact which underlies the presi- 
dent's message — and which gives it all its 
point — is this — slavery is the political curse 
of this nation. During this generation — to go 
no further back — it has occupied the press — 
the pulpit — the rostrum — the legislative hall, 
and the political arena. It has filled the land 
with strife and bitterness, and at last has culmi- 
nated in a great rebellion. It is the sole cause 
of this civil war — the rebels themselves being 
witnesses. If it had not existed, no man in the 
South would have dreamed of this revolt. 



It is slavery then which has deranged the whole 
business of the country, beggared hundreds of 
thousand of families, and drawn a million of our 
citizens from their peaceful pursuits, and armed 
them for war. It is slavery which covered the 
fields of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, Douelson, Pea 
Ridge, Newbern and Winchester, with wounded 
and dying men. It is this which has filled so 
many homes with desolation, and so many hearts 
with anguish, at the loss of their loved ones. It 
is this which has blasted the South, and filled it 
with treason. 

So much at least can hardly be denied. For 
whether it be slavery, per se, at the South, or the 
agitation of the subject at the North, or both 
these causes combined, is of little practical con- 
sequence. In any case, it has produced these 
calamities. But for its existence, there would 
have been no struggle for power on the one 
hand, and no agitation of the subject on the 
other. 

This being so, it would seem to follow as a 
logical sequence, that slavery should be got rid 
of, at all hazards, and at any cost. 

But we are here met by the constitutional dif- 
ficulty that the nation, as such, has no jurisdic- 
tion in the matter. That it belongs to the states 
exclusively, and we have no right to interfere 
with it. I concede this in the broadest language 
that it can be uttered, but with this explanation ; 
that this is the status of slavery while it remains 
loyal. It is the " peace footing " of slavery, if I 
may so express myself. The status of slavery is 
entirely changed when it rebels. Then, it is con- 
centrated treason, it forfeits all its coustitutioual 
rights and guaranties, and must be dealt with 
like all other treason. If it will not yield it must 
be destroyed. I may be rash, but I can see no 
difficulty at all here. 

If slavery has in fact inaugurated this rebel- 
lion, and is now in arms against the government, 
we have an undoubted right to strike it down. 
AVhy there should be any hesitancy passes my 
comprehension. That good and patriotic man 
who sincerely desires the triumph of our arms, 
should yet insist that rebel slavery — should 
be guarded and protected, fills me with aiuaze- 
aient. 

Sir, slavery and rebellion as they now exist in 
this unhappy country, are convertible terms 
Is this not so ? For what purpose have we 
placed yonder grand army in the field and bur- 



dened the ocean with our vessels of war ? 
What means this roar of artillery rising from 
hundreds of miles of sea-coast, and rocking the 
continent from the Chesapeake to the Sierra 
Nevada? Why these shrieks of dying men, 
mingled with shouts of victory borne to us up- 
on every breeze? Why? Because along that 
whole sea-coast, throughout the whole revolt- 
ed States, rebel slavery has torn down our 
National flag and planted its own black, pirati- 
cal emblem in its stead. These unusual prepar- 
ations, this fearful carnage, tell us of the death, 
struggle now going on between freedom and na- 
tionality on the one hand, and slavery and trea- 
son on the other. 

And, sir, why do we shrink from attacking 
slavery in this war for our own existence ? We 
confiscate all other property of the rebels, and 
no one thinks it wrong. We strike down the 
rebel himself when we find him in arms against 
us, and all admit the stern necessity for this. 
And yet here is that which constitutes the bone 
and sinew of the rebellion, nay its very vitality, 
and patriotic men insist that we should guard 
and protect it. 

Am I told that the constitution protects sla- 
very in the States. I know that, and I am will- 
ing to abide by it. But what then ? Are there 
no reciprocal obligations on the part of slavery ? 
Must it not remain true to its allegiance 1 Shall 
it be at liberty to attack the constitution and 
seek its overthrow, and while in the very act, 
claim the protection of that constitution ? No 
sir, slavery is under the protection of the con- 
stitution only so long as it is obedient to that 
constitution. Whenever it rebels, it forfeits all 
its rights and guaranties. 

I say, therefore, that whenever slavery rebels, 
our government has a clear right to strike it 
down, whenever and wherever it can reach it. 

And whatever others may think, it is my de- 
liberate conviction that we can employ no means 
so affectual to terminate this unnatural war. 

Let me be fully understood here — I would 
make no general proclamation of emancipation 
— nor would I wage this war for that purpose. 

On the contrary, I would assure every loyal 
state that its rights under the constitution should 
be strictly and faithfully maintained. But I 
would just as distinctly warn every rebel state 
and community, that so far as a federal army 
was obliged to go to put down treason, just so 



far should their cherished institution vanish- 
that if they will lay down their arms and return 
to their allegiance, they can preserve slavery if 
they want it, but if they compel our divisions 
to sweep their whole country to the gulf, we will 
do it effectually, by crushing treason, and era 
dieting its cause. I do not believe that anything 
short of this will ever bring the people of the 
south to their senses. They are the victims of 
the grossest delusions. They have been taught 
by their unscrupulous leaders, that we are a low, 
cowardly race, and that they are our natural 
masters, as Ben. McCulloch expressed it the 
other day at Charleston. They have also been 
taught by the same inveterate traitors, that we 
wish to destroy their rights, and deprive them 
of their property. 

We are compelled to teach them, by the stern 
arbitrament of battle, that we are the worthy 
sons of the men who fought at Bunker Hill, Sa- 
ratoga and Yorktown. We must teach them that 
we will abide by and maintain the Constitution ; 
but that we will perish before we will allow the 
Government framed by their fathers and ours to 
be overthrown. We must teach them, also, that, 
so long as Slavery remains law-abiding and faith- 
ful to the Government, it is safe ; but the instant 
it raises its arm against that Government, it is 
doomed. 

Nothing now but this conviction will induce 
them to lay down their arms and return to their 
allegiance. He who now expects the restoration 
of peace by the flourishing of olive-branches, is 
a dreamer or a madman. You cannot now reach 
the Secessionist except through his fears. The 
only argument he will now recognize is gunpow- 
der and cold steel. And if we are to continue 
this fight at all, humanity demands that we 
should do it in the most effectual way. In mercy 
to our own brave sons and brothers who are now 
pouring out their life-blood in this cause, and in 
pity even to the misguided rebels themselves, let 
us turn our guns upon this citadel of treason, 
and, if it will not yield, batter it to the ground. 

And what is there in this proposition that 
should startle patriotic men ? Is there anything 
so pure and holy about Slavery that it should be 
exempted from all responsibility, and suffer none 
of the penalties of treason 1 As I have said be- 
fore, we take the life of a rebel found in arms 
against us. We confiscate all his other property. 
Are cotton and tobacco legitimate subjects of 
seizure, and slaves not ? May we shoot, hang 



and imprison the rebel himself, and yet be for- 
bidden to Interfere with the slaves of these same 
rebels 1 What consummate blindness and folly 
is this ! 

But we are told that we must respect the 
rights of the loyal slaveholders in these states. 
I concede this. The proposition is entirely 
sound. Let such men be protected to the ex- 
tent of our power. Nay, further. When a 
slave state remains true, or is even prevented 
from open outbreak, let us maintain her consti- 
tutional rights with scrupulous care. But spare 
not the rebel. Subdue him in the shortest and 
most effectual way. If slavery be his strength 
and power, strike it down. Sir, I have urged 
this course as a mere matter of right and policy, 
I have not discussed the question whether sla- 
very be right or wrong in the abstract — nor 
will I. The universal sentiment of Christen- 
dom has settled that matter beyond appeal. I 
would as soon enter upon an argument to 
prove the existence of a Supreme Being as to 
attempt to prove that slavery is wrong — and 
he who, at this day, disputes either of these 
propositions is so far above reason, or so far be- 
low it, as to be impervious to ordinary logic. But 
this question is entirely unimportant in this dis- 
cussion. It is sufficient for our present pur- 
pose to know that slavery is the cause and the 
strength of this rebellion. 

And, Sir, let us suppose this war ended to- 
morrow — by the subjugation of the rebel ar- 
mies, will this treason then be dead 1 No, Sir. 
The experience of the last twelvemonths warns 
us that we cannot then "beat our swords into 
ploughshares, and our spears into pruning- 
hooks." A generation will not be sufficient to 
restore to us a reliable peace. And why ? For the 
reason that the cause of this rebellion will remain. 
And it will operate in the future as it has opera- 
ted in the past. It will poison the minds and 
pervert the nature of the Southern people, and 
be hereafter, as heretofore, a powerful instrumen- 
tality in the hands of unscrupulous demagogues. 
It is one of the chief curses of slavery that 
it renders its supporters arrogant and impatient 
of restraint. For half a century, at least, they 
have ruled this nation and dictated its policy. 
They will never be content to occupy an equal 
position in the Union, They must rule or ruin. 
Hence it is that I say, that while slavery has the 
political strength which it now has, the slave- 



holding states will be in the condition of a real 
or quasi rebellion. 

I feel it therefore to be the part of enlightened 
patriotism, to get rid of this evil at the earliest 
possible moment. 

We must get rid of it, or be destroyed by it. 
We must accomplish this, or eventually surren- 
der our nationality. 

This rebellion v/aged upon the one side, to 
secure the political supremacy of slavery, and 
draining upon the other, the very life-blood of the 
loyal states, has taught us some startling truths. 
Among other things, it has demonstrated that 
where slavery is strongest, just there treason is 
found in its most concentrated form. 

It has demonstrated also, that the south, aside 
from the mountain districts of Virginia and 
Tennessee, as substantially a unit in this rebel- 
lion. Not a man of us believed twelvemonths 
ago, that a majority of any Southern State, ex- 
cept South Carolina, desired this revolt. And 
probably, at that time, our belief was well 
founded. But however it may have been then, 
it is no longer true. I repeat that the South is no w 
substantially a unit in this rebellion. This war 
has also shown us, that every one of the slave- 
holding States, with the exception perhaps of 
Delaware, would have been drawn into this vortex 
but for the presence of federal bayonets. 

It is idle for us to ignore these painful truths. 
If we are to continue this contest, let us do it 
with our eyes open, and look these appalling 
dangers squarely in the face. That there is 
a Union sentiment of the South, I have no 
doubt, but, as I said before, it is confined al- 
most exclusively to the mountain districts of 
Virginia and Tennessee. That there are isola- 
ted instances of it also throushout all the re- 
volted states is also true, no doubt, but it is weak 
helpless and insignificant as a political element. 
The solemn truth seems to e, tliat slavery, and 
all its supporters everywhere, are bound to- 
gether by a " golden circle," and mean to fight 
out this battle to the bitter end. And the sooner 
we understand this, the better it will be for us. 

Do I speak unadvisedly here ? I appeal to 
the facts. A federal army has occupied Port 
Royal and its neighborhood for months, and 
where is the Union sentiment it has developed 
among the whites ? The hole Atlantic coast 
is ours to-day, but tell me the spot upon it wliere 
an avowed Union man can stand outside of the 



range of our rifles ? We have driven Price and 
McCuUoch from Missouri, but let the heroes of 
Curtis and Siegel recross the Mississippi, and 
that state would be again overrun by the rebels, 
in a week. We now occupy Nashville ; but 
where is the enthusiasm for the old flag so con- 
fidently predicted. Is it in streets and houses 
deserted, in shops closed, and in the sullen faces 
of the inhabitants ? And what would be the 
fate of Baltimore and Washington even to-mor- 
row, if Gen. Dix and his army were withdrawn ? 

These truths are not pleasant to reflect upon, 
much less to utter. But I believe they are truths 
which we must recognize. 

I confess I have been slow in coming to these 
conclusions. I have been hitherto among those 
who have deprecated the interference witii sla- 
very by our army. I have dreamed with thou- 
sands of others, that we had only to scatter the 
armies of Davis, and our work would be done. 
That a repressed Union sentiment would then 
arise, replace the old flag, and all would again 
be peace and harmony. 

But Sir, I am now satisfied that these hopes 
are illusory. When we shall have conquered 
every rebel stronghold, overcome every rebel 
army, retaken every fort, and unfurled the na- 
tional banner from every flag-staff, this rebellion 
will not then be subdued. Its arms will he bro- 
ken, but its spirit will survive. 

So long as slavery remains the great political 
power it now is, just so long will treason batch 
its plots, and upon the first opportunity it will 
rise again. Whatever it may have been in the 
past, it is now committed to an eternal hostility 
to our government. 

This need not be so, but I am entirely confi- 
dent that it will be so. If every Northern voice 
were hushed, and every Northern press silent in 
the future, the result would be the same. 

Since these things are so, what escape have 
we from the dangers which they foretell ? 

It seems to me, there can be but one answer. 
We must put down armed treason by military 
force. We must hold it down by the same 
means. If a military necessity for it shall exist 
slavery must be destroyed, and thus our diffi- 
culties be solved, and our dangers ended. 

The possibility of a resort to this alternative 
is distinctly expressed in the President's mes- 
sage. I will read the extract : 

" lu the annual message last December I thought fit to 
say :— ' The Uaion must be preserved, and hence all 



indlspensalble means must be employed.' I said this, 
not hastily, but deliberately. War has been and con- 
tinaes to be an indispensable means to this end. A 
practical re-acknowledgment of the national authority 
would render war unnecessary, and it would at once 
cease. If, however, resistance continues, the war must 
also continue ; and it is impossible to foresee all the in- 
cidents which may attend and all the ruin which may 
follow such as may seem indispensable, or may obvi- 
ously promise great efficiency towards ending the 
struggle, must and will come." 

As I understand this calm but determined lan- 
guage, the President means to say, that, if the 
issue shall be distinctly made, whether this Gov- 
ernment or negro slavery shall perish, the des- 
truction of the latter "must and will come." 
And the nation will sustain him in this terrible 
retribution. Let the people of the loyal States 
clearly see that this is the alternative before 
them — and they will see it, if this war continues 
twelvemonths longer — and they will rise en 
masse for its destruction. The upheaving which 
followed the fall of Fort Sumter was nothing to 
what this will be — no more than a powder-blast 
to an earthquake. 

But if Slavery shall discover its folly in time, 
as I sincerely hope it may, and return to its alle- 
giance before these extreme measures become an 
inevitable necessity, then the recommendation of 
the President will demand our earnest attention. 
It contemplates the aid of the General Govern- 
ment to any States which may institute a scheme 
of gradual emancipation. It does not propose 
to interfere with the free action of the slavehold- 
ing States in this matter. Whether they will 
abolish slavery at all or not, and, if so, how, is 
left entirely to them. It merely designs to en- 
courage such movements. 

And, Sir, I think the proposition timely and 
eminently wise. The arguments in its favor are 
substantially contained in the terse, pithy Mes- 
sage itself. 

First : It is one of the most effective measures 
the Government can employ for its own preserva- 
tion. As is clearly implied in the Message, and 
as I have endeavored to show to-night, our Gov- 
ernment is in imminent danger because of Slave- 
ry ; and it must remain so as long as that insti- 
tution retains its present political power. Mani- 
festly, then, to curtail that power will promote 
the safety of Government. And it is here we 
find our right to do this thing. The Govern- 



ment has an undoubted right to do whatever is 
necessary for its own self-preservation — to secure 
its own existence. 

And if slavery threatens that existence it may 
use all fair and honorable means to rid itself of 
the danger. 

As respects the expense to which this plan 
will expose the nation, I have nothing to say. 
After the experience of a twelvemonths' war to 
put down a slaveholders' rebellion, at the cost 
of thousands of lives, and untold millions of 
money, such considerations sink into com- 
parative insignificance. If, by expending this 
money, through a long series of years, we can 
thereby secure peace, save the lives of our sol- 
diers, and maintain universal industry and pros- 
perity, I shall consider the money economically 
used. 

But we are told that even the border states 
will reject this ofier. 

I know that. I expect nothing else for the 
present. The men who are now in arms against 
the government, or who would be if they dared, 
will undoubtedly scoflf and sneer at this propo- 
sition — and there will be some even here at the 
North who will imitate their example. But it 
will go out amongst the people. It will excite 
thought and investigation. It will shut the 
mouths of those who are continually saying that 
we mean to rob them of their property, and in 
the end it will bring forth the fruits of emanci- 
pation. I verily believe that it will hasten this 
consummation. The war has already unsettled 
this system in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, 
Tennessee and Missouri. It is said that in the 
latter state, it has lost all its vitality within the 
last few months, and that it can never again be 
an important element either in her industry or 
her politics. And whenever this result can be 
accomplished in the states I have named, our 
country will be saved, and, I very much fear, not 
until then. For then slavery will be confined to 
the gulf states, where it will be powerless for 
evil, and it would soon disappear even there. 

And in addition to this great deliverance, we 
will have redeemed the most magnificent por- 
tion of this continent — the fairest land the sun 
ever shone upon — and we shall then see it oc- 
cupied by a noble race of men and women, 
American in every fibre of their being. 



5^ 



